Sunday, December 31, 2006

Is your money safe in Singapore? Your investments can be safe only if you have the rule of law and independent judges. Investments and banking rely on legal contracts and agreements. Investors need to know that these are honoured and enforced. In the event of a dispute, the courts must independently decide the issue based on the prevailing law, not on whether Lee Kuan Yew will be pleased or displeased. The sad truth is that Singapore judges are corrupt and beholden to Lee Kuan Yew and his son. There is no rule of law in Singapore. The law has been systematically and routinely abused at Lee's orders. If Lee can abuse the law at will against political dissidents, what guarantee is there that he will not do it to enrich himself with your money?

JB Jeyaretnam was a political opponent of Lee. Since 1974, Lee Kuan Yew had systematically abused the law with defamation actions with crippling damages against him, which resulted in Mr. Jeyratnam being imprisoned, bankrupted and disbarred from practice. The world knows this. Lee has abused the law against Dr. Chee and presently continues this tactic against him. He has done it to almost every political opponent of his to remain in power. The law in Singapore is the major instrument of repression which he uses against his people.

Singapore attracts capital from abroad with its banking, insurance and investments. We also know that Singapore is being used for money laundering. The fact that Burmese drug lords launder their money through Singapore banks is well known. So also the money from illegal businessmen from Indonesia. Chinese criminals too park their money in Singapore. We have heard that Singapore has lost millions of dollars through their illegal investments in Thailand and Indonesia. The assets came from the forced savings of Singaporeans in the Central Provident Fund. If the government is unable to honor their promises to the people through these losses, what guarantee is there that Lee will not abuse the legal contracts, break them to cover the losses.

Singapore judges are corrupt in the sense that they decide cases to please Lee and his son. We also know that the Singapore administration will sing any praise and do anything to please the USA. There may be an occasion that the CIA requests Lee to punish certain parties who have their money in Singapore. What guarantee is there that Lee will not use his courts to take that money of the targets.

My point is this. If Lee and his son can abuse the law for one purpose, for persecuting political opponents, there is no reason why he will not do it for any other purpose. My advice therefore to any foreign investor thinking of investing in Singapore is to look elsewhere. Your money is not safe in Singapore. In the region, Hong Kong, Australia and New Zealand are safer. These countries have the rule of law. Singapore does not.

Saturday, December 30, 2006

Singapore was this year declared 140th down the list for lack of journalistic freedom by a respected French organization monitoring countries around the world. It was one point better than the North Korean press. This discredited media in their Straits Times of Dec 30, 2006 wants us to believe that there is indeed a Sikh community and they have done very well. Both these statements are patently false. But after all what can you expect from the Straits Times!

Indians mainly from South India emigrated to Singapore. Among them there was a sizable number of Sikhs from the Punjab. I said "there was". The truth is, this sizable community has shrunk to negligible figures. As we speak, the few remaining Sikhs are filling up applications to emigrate to Australia, New Zealand and Canada. Of those who remain for reasons which I will come to, their children live overseas in the United States and Canada. They don't plan to return to Singapore. Very soon there will be handful left, perhaps the likes of a Sikh lawyer who Lee Kuan Yew uses for defamation cases against his opponents, a despicable way to make a living. One thing is certain. There will not be left in Singapore any self-respecting Sikh. The remaining ones will be crawlers, sycophants and trumpeters, used by Lee to trumpet his glories.

The propaganda piece aforementioned that there are 13,000 Sikhs in Singapore is probably a lie, which shameful practice the Straits Times engages in daily. And if true, this is a small number of the much greater numbers that were in Singapore. One thing is certain, even this small remaining number is dwindling on a daily basis.

The Sikhs are aware of the dictatorship they live under Lee Kuan Yew and his son. They are aware of the people having to live in subjugation, not able to speak for fear of libel actions. No free press. No right to speak publicly without a permit (reference Dr. Chee), no right to assemble without a permit, no right to do almost anything in Singapore without Lee Kuan Yew's permission. These Sikhs come from the Punjab where men speak their mind. There is no need there to get the written permission of the Chief Minister of the Punjab before they can assemble and speak in Chandigarh square. They are accustomed to live as free men. They do not like having to kowtow to Lee. Their community is far too small to make any big difference. They realize this. So they emigrate. There are about 3 million emigrants in England. The vast number being Sikh. Toronto and Vancouver have large Sikh populations. And now in Australia and New Zealand. Almost all the Sikhs in Singapore have family and friends in the West. They are aware of the freedoms of the West, and the shameful life they have to lead in Singapore as Lee's "digits ". So they leave if they can. And in little while there will only be the "yes-men" like Lee Kuan Yew's personal Sikh lawyer who does his dirty work. Self respecting Sikhs will be elsewhere.

This shameful Singapore propaganda says that the "Sikhs have made it in Singapore". Well it depends on what you mean by "making it". There are still some doctors, lawyers and army officers. But all these have hardly "made it". These are all middle echelon officers, who daily have to switch off their minds to the injustices around them, to earn whatwages they get. Sikh judges are required to distort the law at Lee's pleasure. A Sikh civil servant at the Official Assignee's office oversees the bankruptcy of Dr. Chee at Lee's behest. Despicable work. The Sikh head Indian Interpreter at the Subordinate Court told me that he does not have time to find out what had happened in Dr. Chee's recent case, since he was very busy with his work. When I told him that he should as a citizen, be interested in the law being abused to harass political activists, he terminated the telephone conversation. Like this Sikh interpreter, Sikhs have to live a life deliberately forgetting their civic responsibility and self respect. In other words all these so called Sikhs who have achieved "success" live as slaves, unquestioning robots who just do as they are told. I would hardly have called such lives as having "made it".

Sikhs if they truly care for Singapore would have protested against the unjust laws and the helplessness of the people. True Sikhs would have done it. What is left in Singapore are mere opportunists, who are there for the ride. Anyone with a conscience would have either stood up to the truth, or packed and left.

Friday, December 29, 2006

A vociferous demanding people can topple dictators. Best to keep the population half educated. Half informed. If they did not know, surely they cannot complain. That is why Pol Pot had all books burnt, and the workers sent to work in the fields. The wisdom is, the less they know the less they question. Lee Kuan Yew knows this. Unfortunately, Singapore is not Cambodia or Burma. It is a business center. Alas, the people have to be taught a little more. Education in Singapore is unfortunately necessary. But please, not too much. Hopefully, Lee can still control his people. That is why, Lee has deliberately obstructed opportunities for education.

My parents came from India. Just as many Chinese parents came from China. The Malays are no different from any of us. We all have one thing in common. The desire to give our children the best possible education. If given the opportunity, we could have given our children a life long education and opportunities. But it is not available. Deliberately, intentionally, opportunities are denied Singaporeans so that they can only advance that much and no more.

Schools are highly competitive. Everyone is given a primary and secondary education. But beyond that it becomes difficult. It becomes difficult to enter colleges. First because the exams are too difficult except for the small minority. Second because there are not enough colleges and universities. Law and medicine is almost impossible for the vast majority. Only the brilliant from the very beginning get the chance at tertiary education. And there is no second chance. If you are not the studying type from the start you are doomed to the half educated majority. Also the education system itself is one track system. There are no opportunities for part time education. And if you miss the boat the first time, that is the end for you.

I was born in Exeter Road in Singapore. Behind my house were PUB flats. The residents were PUB working class employees. Many of them Indian from India. They all, just like my parents, wanted their children to turn out into doctors and lawyers and high fliers. They tried hard to educate their children. So did the children try. I daresay, that in that entire neighbourhood of about 300 families, only myself and a handful managed a university education. The rest didn't get any. Not because they were stupid, but multiple factors, including overly difficult examinations, insufficient colleges and lack of any help from Lee's government, caused all these good guys to miss the boat. I too was a mediocre student. In my case, I had determination to get an education anyway. So I got mine by going to England. Had I not gone overseas, I too would be one of the half educated masses.

My childhood friend is Thanabal (his real name). He is very literate and really university material. But in the Singapore system he was not good enough. He finished 10th Grade and became a store man, a trade he learnt in the Army. Now he is in his fifties. He is a Security Guard now. He was late for Lee's education boat. He didn't concentrate when young. People like Thanabal would have been a lawyer or a doctor in any other country. There are opportunities for part time study. There are opportunities for adult education. There are opportunities for late starters. All sorts of possibilities are there in any other country for people to study whenever they want. To further themselves at anytime of their lives to be whatever they want. Their governments encourage this desire to learn. Of course educated people will ask questions. That is where the trouble lies. This is what Lee Kuan Yew fears. That is why he prefers Thanabal, to remain a "digit" as he calls them, with a 10th Grade education. That is why Thanabal is unable to ask the important questions, such as why he does not have the freedom of peaceful assembly, or the other even more important question, where is my money?

I had met Thanabal when I returned recently. I had told him that this harassment and imprisonment of Dr. Chee was all wrong, and that it was a question of a fundamental right of freedom of speech. I said it is the constitution. He said the government was wrong to hound Dr. Chee so, that it was all wrong. But he did not know the underlying reason for it, that important fundamental right of free speech expression and assembly. Thanabal is the product of Lee Kuan Yew's half baked education. To know just enough but not too much. It is not just Thanabal. Same situation with Bala. Bala is a great reader of the Straits Times. You could say, Bala is very literate. But just like Thanabal, he has been intentionally kept in the dark as to the whys and the wherefores. Not just these 2 individuals. The vast majority of Signaporeans are in this half educated limbo. Just the poeple that Lee Kuan Yew wants. You can read the newspaper but you cannot articulate why and wherefore I do this or that. You see, it is better to keep them ignorant, lest they become troublesome!

In the US where I live, there are education opportunities galore. I recently met a 40 year plumber. He his now going to Adult school to finish his high school accreditation. After that he says he is going to medical school He wants to be doctor. And I say why not. Such things are quite common here. Become an astronaut if you want to. It is your life. You pay your taxes. If you want to be a doctor at 50, why should anyone stop you. This is what a country should be. There has to be honesty. Not just lip service. In the US, you can study and pass exams, and enter your trade, anytime, anywhere. This is opportunity. The US promises it and gives it. It is not easy to be a doctor, just as in any other country. But at least in the US, if you really desire it, and work at it, you will get it. That is a certainty. In Signapore, you do not have that opportunity. That too is a certainty. And in a country where the politicians pay themselves millions of dollars of your money, like Lee takes from you, why should he not provide education benefits to all, schools and colleges for all? It is your right. Demand it now.

Even to learn a trade there are no real opportunities. Air conditioning technician, motor mechanic, aircraft technician, cook, construction worker and thousands of other trades require structured training and examinations to make real tradesman. But Singapore has no opportunities except for those of school age who take these up. There is no possibility for someone having missed the chance to study these trades when young to do it later. Schools require you to fill up various forms which require dates of birth and other particulars that make it difficult to be accepted. There are rules upon rules, like age limits. You will not get a place if you were beyond a certain age. Unlike other countries, various of these important trades are unregulated and do not require certificates and any formal training. You learn a trade by working under another and learning it through practice. There is no common standard of proficiency that the public can expect. Quality standards therefore differ in the trade. Sometimes they can be very low. And now, Singaporeans can't even find these tradesman jobs, since employers deliberately recruit foreigners for low wages. Singaporeans have the butt end of the stick both ways.

Singapore deliberately denies their people full oppurtunity for an education. This is deliberate. Since the less one knows, the less they question. And the less one questions, the better it is for Lee to keep his grip over what he calls his "digits". You should demand your right to be educated. You should publicly protest for your rights, as the 2 opposition members of Parliment are incapable of demanding it.

Thursday, December 28, 2006

About 1/3 of the Singapore workforce are foreigners. Singapore government favors them, not Singaporeans. They say, they have to compete globally. Therefore they say, they need cheap labor. This cheap labor causes suffering for Singaporeans. The government knows this, but they don't care. They must compete globally with cheap labor countries. It is a matter of survival they say. But what about the survival of Singaporeans.

There is almost unrestricted entry for foreigners. No minimum wage laws exist. Employers can bring in any kind of workers they need. Construction workers, kitchen help, bus drivers, taxi drivers, any whatsoever. Also, there are no minimum wage laws. They can be paid anything they will take. As many are uneducated from impoverished countries, they will take almost nothing, as almost nothing in Singapore wages, is quite a lot where they come from. In the atmosphere of a free for all, the employers get away with murder, so to speak. They can get away with paying a foreigner almost nothing. The only winners in this are the employers themselves and the Singapore government. The Singapore government because, as we can expect of Lee and his friends, government requires a payment each month from the employer for employing the foreigner. This is called a levy. Now wait for the surprise. The levy paid to the government is quite often more than what the foreign worker gets in wages each month! If this is not injustice to the foreign worker, then tell me what is! I had in my last post mentioned the lack of free speech and expression. That is why the plight of these foreigners will remain. They will continue in suffering. Since Lee will do whatever he wants. And if you complain, he will sue you. This is the first part. The suffering of the foreign worker.

Second, the discrimination against Singaporeans. Singapore's cost of living is high compared to those from which the workers come. You have your Housing and Development Board mortgage payments. You have bus fares. You have gas, electricity and water bills. You have children's school fees. These are appreciably higher than that in the impoverished countries who supply the workers to Singapore. Second, the Bangladesi in Singapore, who probably lives rough, who very probably lives alone, has no HDB payments to make, who lives on almost nothing, can accept and live on much lower wages. His expenses are apprciably lower. So when an employer can cheaply employ a Bangladeshi at $600.00 per month, why should he employ a Singaporean to whom he has to pay more? But when the Singaporean is unemployed, he has no choice but to accept $600.00 a month instead of $1500.00 minimum which he needs to barely survive on. With $600.00 a month, he cannot possibly pay his mortgage, his utility bills and send his children to school. Now does not Lee and his friends realise this grave unconscionable, cruel, inexcusable injustice to their own people! Of course they do. But they don't care. They own Singapore. You can say anything you want. But I am the King and you listen to me. That my friend is Lee Kuan Yew and his Singapore.

Suicides are very common. I have heard that on average one person a day kills himself. Mostly they jump off the ubiquitous high rise government owned apartments. Lately people have been jumping on rail tracks. These people take their lives because of poverty. They are unable to find jobs to feed their children. And in these dire painful circumstances, Lee Kuan Yew, his son, their cronies and their relatives whom they have placed in top government positions pay themselves millions. Yes, millions. And if you do ask them about these inequities, you will be sued for defamation. Lee and his family will use their judges to finish you off. The judges will willingly do the dirty work for him. Perhaps one of these judges which he will use for the dirty work may be Judge Kang Teng Chiu. He was used to bankrupt Dr. Chee for his having questioned the Lees on the disappearance of the money.

In this whole thing then, the ones being discriminated in their own country are the Singaporeans. They cannot compete with those from Bangladesh on low paying jobs. The jobs go to foreigners, the Singaporeans although seeking work cannot find any, and if if they did, are unable to live on it, since there is no minimum wage law. Lee on his part remains adamant. He refuses to introduce any minimum wage laws, and neither is he prepared to introduce social welfare for the unemployed. On the whole then, his message to his people is that they should somehow compete with foreigners, and if they cannot, they should go to Hell.

It is for this reason that I say this. The time is now. If you are unemployed and without jobs, you should all get together and tell this guy Lee that it is about time that he listen to you. That you will no longer take no for an answer. If you did this, you cannot lose. And by the way, don't forget to ask him what has happened to the money.

Wednesday, December 27, 2006

A) In Singapore today, the government controls the media. You only get "news" the government wants you to hear. B) Judges are beholden to the government. The law abused to punish Lee's opponents. C) Civil servants serve Lee Kuan Yew and his political party. They are required to go out of their way to serve Lee and his supporters. Any dissenter gets no assistance from these thoroughly politicised civil servants. D) Workers who are Lee regime supporters advance in their careers. Opposition supporters are dissuaded from continuing. If not, they are demoted or dismissed from their jobs (e.g. Dr. Chee was dismissed from his professorship at the National University of Singapore). E) No able citizen with credible qualifications and a career would ever think of standing against Lee in elections. If they are stupid enough to do it, Lee's bully boys will finish them off with trumped up criminal charges, defamation charges and bankruptcy. Lee will unleash his instruments of repression, his police and his obedient judges to do the dirty work. Capable opposition candidates, will be successfully sued for defamation even before they stand for elections and driven out of the country! Remember Tang Liang Hong. On the odd chance if you win, which is most unlikely, like Jeyaretnam, false criminal charges will immediately surface, witnesses will give false testimony, you are promptly convicted and bankrupted and kicked him out of Parliament. On the other hand, if you are not a threat, that is if your highest level of education was Primary 6, you will be left alone by the Administration. Why? They know that you will lose and you will not be taken seriously anyway. And furthermore they can use it to their advantage. They will go to town and say opposition candidates have stood for elections, therefore they are a democracy!

Lee and Company brook no criticism at any cost. This is clear as daylight since the last 40 years. Fear permeates the entire island. Island wide intimidation is complete. Brainwashing is complete. Either one is recklessly courageous or one insane to challenge Lee. In his political grip, there is no hope of ever voting Lee out. Yet in this pervasive island-wide fear-afflicted atmosphere, Lee wants us to believe that we have elections, therefore we have the means to vote them out. Voting Lee out through elections in this hopeless atmosphere of libel actions, false criminal charges, corrupt judiciary, a government controlled press and island wide intimidation is impossible.

Civil disobedience is the answer for change in Singapore. The only answer. Lee has placed obstacles to every avenue for change through the ballot box. The system has to be forced to change through non-conventional means, through non-cooperation, through telling the government that their laws are morally repugnant and we will not obey them.

The problem lies in our thinking. We think it is impossible to bring them down. That we are up against a mountain. We fear failure and the dire consequences that will undoubtedly follow, we fear Lee's wrath and retribution. Truly, we are much stronger than we think we are. In a confrontation, truth always has the upper hand. This is the natural instinct of humans. It is easier to suffer when your cause is right.

There are fundamental injustices that cry out for change. The issue of freedom of speech is one. A fundamental right that is the basis for almost every other right. Without this freedom one cannot criticise. And if you cannot criticize, you are a slave. Therefore assemble and demand your right to your freedom. The right of an independent press. The right to be free to congregate and discuss. The government cannot morally use force to stop you. They may have the power, but they do not have the moral right. That belongs to you. Your righteousness must triumph. There is no other way.

In the National Kidney Foundation scandal, thousands of dollars of your money was lost. They were lost in the Thaksin scandal of Thailand, in the telephone investments in Indonesia. The Lee family administration refuses to disclose the real facts. You are ignored and kept in the dark. It is your money, not theirs. No one would begrudge you if your were to assemble in droves outside Parliament with placards demanding to know the truth. True people around the world will applaud you for doing it.

You will recall that Goh Chock Tong sued and bankrupted Dr. Chee for merely asking him where the money was!

Consider your CPF and Income Tax monies. Lee Kuan Yew, his son and their relatives, cronies, pay themselves as much of your money as they want. It is public knowledge that Lee Kuan Yew and his son pay themselves each much more than the President of the United States and Presidents and Prime Ministers of many European countries combined. This is unjust. This is criminal. In law they call this embezzlement. You have a right to force them to account for it. It is your money. Surely you have a right to know.

Public institutions used as instruments of repression have to be bought down. The courts should explain why they let themselves be abused at Lee's pleasure. The media has to explain why they spew only propaganda. The police have to explain why they harass Lee's opponents. The civil servants have to be told that they should be impartial.

You will find that when challenged, there is only this much Lee can do. If you were to persist, they must eventually break. They cannot continue to keep imprisoning Dr. Chee repeatedly for his just resistance. Laws that have been put in place for subjugation of their people. Both locally and internationally, Lee's injustice is now being exposed. They now have no choice. Either they will have to imprison their protesters indefinitely, kill them or leave them alone. Killing jailing peaceful protesters infinitely does not go well for Singapore's image as an international business hub. In this confrontation against falsity, the only victor is truth. Singapore's position as an international business city makes it even easier, being vulnerable to international opinion.

Dr. Chee and his supporters have staged protests. For that he has been arrested and imprisoned. But at the same time, you can see that Lee is hesitating. They are no longer so confident. Dr. Chee could have been given a long jail term for deliberately telling Judge Lai Siew Chew, in open court, in full view that she is corrupt. Surprisingly Dr. Chee's sentence was unbelievably lenient. A small fine, in default a week in jail. A very lenient sentence for a serious contempt. The people know the truth. There is no avoiding it. Is that the reason for the leniency?. Lee is beginning to look silly.

Dr. Chee and his supporters should not let up on the protests. Do it repeatedly. Challenge them to arrest you repeatedly. Send you to jail repeatedly. They will soon realize that their punishments are not having the desired effect. With world and public opinion squarely against them, they will have to come down from their high horse.

Singapore is a one party state. In a Parliament of 84 members, there are 2 miserable opposition members. These 2 have been thoroughly neutralized, thoroughly weakened, intimidated and silenced. They are afraid to demand change. Real change. They know what had happened to Mr. JB Jeyaretnam, who was an opposition politician in Parliament. He had dared to ask real questions, such as "where is my money". He had been promptly kicked out of Parliament, criminalized, imprisoned, bankrupted and recently retired from public life. The 2 Members of Parliament are fully aware, every moment of their waking lives, the terrible calamity that befall their predecessor. Therefore they do not ask real questions that matter, such as the people's fundamental rights. They have been asking inane questions such as why is the Parking Lot in their housing estates so small. This arrangement suits them and Lee the tyrant. They continue to warm their Parliamentary seats, and Lee Kuan Yew continues his rule by dictate.

I would hope that the elected opposition representatives in Parliament realize this. They can engage in Parliamentary debates as much as they want. Things will not change. In fact, this facade of political debate is what Lee wants. Just parliamentary debates, with the police, the judiciary, the courts, the press directly under his absolute control. These debates mean nothing, when the people have been terrified into submission, when the newspapers are not free, when the judiciary are political agents of Lee and not impartial judges. Nothing will change with Parliamentary debates.

The 2 elected Opposition Members of Parliament should realize the depressing truth. They are doing nothing for freedom They should join Dr. Chee in a joint effort for civil disobedience. Presently they are helping only themselves. Not the people.

Tuesday, December 26, 2006

The Singapore media, a government mouthpiece, claims Singapore to be education hub. That fact alone, should debunk their claim that Singapore is an education hub. The fact is, it is not. And it can never aspire to be one.

Education is supposed to make a person wise. This is obvious. To be wise is not just knowing facts and figures, history and geography, the sciences and the arts. To gain wisdom is to become a better human being. A human with a conscience. A man with a sense of right and wrong. That is the first purpose of an education. All the rest in sciences and facts and figures can come later. The primary purpose of a teacher or a parent is to instil integrity in a child. The virtues of scout's honor, integrity, courage and the need to speak the truth. In Singapore, both parents and teachers are afraid and unwilling to do this. Therefore there is no avenue for education in Singapore.

Teachers are afraid of their government. They teach their curriculum. Beyond this, they do no more. If there had been even one single brave student, angered at the treatment of Dr. Chee by the authorities, for instance, wanted to stage a sit in, he would be immediately dissuaded by the teacher. The teacher has to protect her job. If she permitted sit ins, Lee and his son, will have her terminated. The student will be told that protests of this nature are bad. Perhaps also told that Dr. Chee was a bad man. The student is told that the best thing is to mind his own business and work hard at his studies.

Parents are afraid of their government. They are afraid for their jobs. They must be seen to be towing the Lee Kuan Yew line. They are careful to see that their children do not think too much beyond their school syllabus. They are told by their parents just to concentrate on their school books, and not to think of such things as freedom of speech, which does not concern them. They are told that such things as thinking, should be left to Lee Kuan Yew and his son.

Almost all students from primary to tertiary education are not taught anything about their rights. They do not know that the country has such a thing as a constitution. When I was a boy and a young man in Singapore, I had no idea that such a document existed or what it meant. The teachers, the parents, the media and the government deliberately keep the students unaware of their rights or the lack of it.

We have had one or two generations who have been completely de-politicised. This de-politicisation continues to the next generation through the teachers and parents. In a situation like this children and students grow up with a set of book learning. Beyond that they have nothing more. They leave their schools trained only to do a particular job, their job, and nothing more. They have no desire to worry about whether they have their fundamental rights, like free speech. They may not even know what it is. What the Lee regime has done to is to deliberately educate students so narrowly that they only know what they learn. They have no aspirations for anything more, not to change society, not to advance anything, other than their daily bread and how to stay out of trouble.

Education should embolden people into seeking the truth. Otherwise it is pointless. A person who is afraid to publicly state the truth is not educated. It is wasted on him, if he was given one. The average Singaporean is not educated. If he was, he would be prepared to seek the truth.

Surely you can see this. There has not been a single protest or demonstration on the streets for many years, except for those recently organized by Dr. Chee. Are you saying then that everyone has had no complaint whatsoever for the last 40 years! Has everyone been living in a perfect society? The answer is that they are afraid to complain. For fear of their jobs, their careers and livelihood. Can you then call these people educated? Can they possibly educate their children?

Some Indonesians and Koreans are sending their children to Singapore for an education. I am sure that had they known the extent of education their children will receive, they will repatriate them on the next plane home. There are some students, mediocre mainly from India who attend Singapore universities. They are not the best students. The best will go to countries where they get a real education, like Australia. Where they will not be arrested and kicked out of university for protesting outside John Howard's office for taking Australia into Iraq.

We should ask Lee Kuan Yew and his son to stop the pipe dream of turning Singapore into an education hub. Parents and teachers in Singapore have not been "educated" in the true spirit of the word. How do they expect their children then to be educated. Forget the idea of turning it into an education hub. Try some other hub. In fact, I think it serves the few remaining thinking discerning parents in Singapore well to send their children abroad for an education. They will not get any in Lee Kuan Yew's Singapore, through the poor terrified miserable meek souls inside the classrooms who call themselves "teachers". A "teaching robot" will be no different.

Monday, December 25, 2006

This is the 2nd part of "Singaporean's Lack of Conviction Must damage Singapore's advancement" which appeared December 24, 2006. Right thinking, dedicated people, are needed for advancement of any country. Lawyers who love the the law, wanting to leave it a little better for their efforts. Sociologists working for a kinder society. Prison officers wanting to improve prison conditions. Policemen wanting to improve the enforcement of law. Honest passionate people are needed in all spheres of life. Dedication, courage and passion to change their country for the better. A people who love their country, their community. Such people are necessary for advancement of any society. Singapore lacks such people. Therefore Singapore cannot expect to advance like other free societies, like New Zealand, like Israel or Australia. And if it did, it must be limited.

This is the problem with Singapore. Every individual knows that Lee Kuan Yew and Son rule the country with their family members and selected few. That it is their word that matters. Not yours. That the media is owned and controlled by the Singapore government which is Lee Kuan Yew, his son and his friends. Therefore what you read is government information. Not necessarily news.

The lawyer knows that Singapore judges will decide cases to please Lee and Son. Any attempt by him to question the law will not succeed. It will also result in his not getting legal work, possible suspension and disbarment. There is no incentive for him to challenge any aspect of the legal system, if he wants to make a living. He therefore does not question. He goes through the law mechanically. He just does the work. If there ever was going to be changes in the law, it will be because Lee Kuan Yew, his son, or their chosen few have decided to do have it. This dampens any enthusiasm on the part of lawyers to do any better. The law stagnates. Lawyers have thrown away their thinking caps. There is no longer any burning desire in lawyers to want changes . There will never be an earth shattering "Brown vs Board of Education", as an example, in Singapore unless Mr. Lee Kuan Yew and his Son want it. Singapore does not have any real lawyers. They have people who plead cases for their clients as long as it is permitted by Lee Kuan Yew and family. Otherwise they will refuse the case.

The evidence of this is very clear from just one fact. There are 3,000 lawyers in Singapore. JB Jeyaretnam and Dr. Chee could not find any lawyer to represent them, except in the case of Dr. Chee. Only one lawyer Mr. M Ravi represented Dr. Chee. He has since been suspended from practicing law. Others will not represent Dr. Chee because of fear. They fear reprisals from the Lee Kuan Yew and his son for representing an opposition politician. A prominent criminal lawyer has said that he will take on any case but "please not a political dissident". What kind of lawyers are these, with so much fear, you may ask? Yes, this is the pathetic situation of the law.

Take journalism. A true journalist is duty bound to the people for the truth. Sorry, not in Singapore. In Singapore the entire media is owned and controlled by Lee Kuan Yew, his son and their collegues. All articles written are vetted and cleared before publication. You will never know that Lee Kuan Yew has corruptly stolen millions of dollars of public money, if he did it. We will not know whether this is true. But journalists cannot publish it even if they happened to know it. It will be censored and the journalist promptly fired from his position and thrown out to the streets. What kind of journalists are these, you may ask? But this is the sad state of journalists in Singapore.

Take teachers. Should not teachers be telling their students to seek the truth and to pursue it fearlessly. Should not teachers extol the virtues of honesty and pursuit of knowledge and wisdom? Not in Singapore. The teacher will not tell her students to pursue the truth. Since the truth is that Lee Kuan Yew and Son are despots and fascists, the truth may encourage the students to rebel against their rulers. This will not go down kindly by Lee Kuan Yew and Son. This rebellious teacher would be terminated, she would be charged with trumped up charges, sent to prison and be thrown on the streets. For self preservation, she will not teach the importance of honesty, integrity and the truth. She will merely go through the motions of her syllabus. What sort of a teacher is that? Well, you could say, she is a Singapore style teacher. And she will produce Singapore style conformists. A sad state of education there.

It is possible to achieve monetary success in Singapore in the professions, business and all walks of life. One does it by forgetting their principles and towing the line. The Lee Kuan Yew line. A lawyer achieves success by being a member of the People's Action Party and actively publicly supporting Lee's said party. Once recognized by Lee Kuan Yew, the lawyer will be employed by a Singapore government connected large law firm, paid large sums of money and be required to do any and all kinds of work given to him. Including dirty work like suing innocent people for defamation at Lee Kuan Yew's orders. One can get very rich doing such dirty work. But surely it is dishonorable and despicable. A good lawyer with a conscience cannot get the job or the work. Therefore he will remain poor. The unprincipled lawyer becomes rich.

The same with the journalist. Dishonest journalists will continue in employment and achieve high status. In return they abdicate their responsibility to journalism. The same with every other line of work. The businessman contractor connected to the Singapore government gets all the government contracts. In a small country like Singapore, without government contracts, you cannot get much work. The one who refuses to suck up to Lee Kuan yew and his son, gets what little contracting work that is left. He remains poor. The civil servant who sees the injustice that goes on against government opponents and wants to stop it, is himself stopped. Therefore civil servants continue punishing political opponents and reward PAP supporters, even though they dislike what they do.

What you have is this. An entire country where everyone does only what he is supposed to do without question. Lacking courage to demand change. To question. To think. To want to improve society for the better. To want to advance their body of science or profession for the better. Thinking is left to Lee Kuan Yew and his son and their selected few. The entire country then just comply and do what they have to for their salaries. No one cares. Since if you care too much, you may land in trouble.

With a society like this, I cannot see how it can achieve greatness. It will always be mediocre, since it lacks men of courage, with passion, wanting a better Singapore.

Sunday, December 24, 2006

Anyone who has lived long enough in Singapore will see a unique general characteristic which runs across the spectrum of the population. That is indifference. Except when it affects their personal interests. In which case, they have tremendous enthusiasm. Otherwise, no matter whether their actions are morally right or wrong, they carry out their functions in a mechanical routine.

Let me explain with a few examples without identifying individuals in some cases. One individual at the official Assignee's Office deals with Dr. Chee Soon Juan's bankruptcy, individual "A". That individual is a government employee. I had pointed out to that individual, that even though the Government has asked A to demand that Dr. Chee pay Lee Kuan Yew large sums of money in court judgements, A should know that the judgment itself against Dr. Chee was clearly unjust, being politically motivated, and therefore A should refuse to do the dirty work of Lee Kuan Yew, and refuse to persecute Dr. Chee. I had informed A that there were various other honorable ways to make a living and that A should not prostitute himself or herself by acting as a PAP politician. My entreaties to A has fallen on deaf ears. "A" continues to punish an innocent Dr. Chee knowing he did no wrong. Another civil servant in perhaps the UK, USA or Australia or other democracy would have perhaps told Lee Kuan Yew that he /she is a civil servant and not a politician, and if indeed Lee Kuan Yew wants to silence others by intimidation, he should do it himself! In Singapore "A" will do anything as long as it is in his or her self interest. Never mind how disgusting that action may be.

This indifference to one's moral responsibility runs across the board. Justice Kang Teng Chiu who was not so long ago appointed High court Judge was well aware that Lee's defamation actions against Dr. Chee are politically motivated. There is no basis for finding against Dr. Chee for defamation and damages, as he was doing no more than exercising his right to free speech and expression. In no other country would a tribunal found against Dr. Chee except of course North Korea and Turkmenistan! Why then does Judge Kang carry out such as despicable order from Lee Kuan Yew, since we can assume that it was done at Lee's pleasure. Has not Judge Kang, any sense of moral conviction, a sense of justice and fair play. Judger Kang too must have been a boy once. Did not his father tell him that it is important to tell the truth?

This "dishonesty", I understand it is a strong word but apt nevertheless, this dishonesty, this indifference to the fellow man runs across the board in Singapore. The willingness to do harm and injustice to his fellow man, for the preservation of one's own interest. One can see this unfortunate trait throughout the Signapore government, throughout the civil service, throughout the population, throughout the private sector. Names of men and women who were prepared to harm others to preserve their own interests come to mind. Judge Belinda Ang who recently ordered summary judgement for defamation action by Lee and Son against Dr. Chee. The late Judge Lai Kew Chai who convicted and sentenced JB Jeyaretnam ensuring that he will lose his seat as MP to please Lee Kuan Yew. The Registrar of the High Court and subsequently the former Judge MH Rubin, who found in favor of Lee Kuan Yew for defamation, in summary judgement, without a trial and dismissing Chee's appeal. Former Judge MH Rubin is now the Singapore High Commissioner to South Africa in Pretoria. I had asked this "judge" whether he had any pangs of conscience now for what he did. He had no answer. Former Judge Sinnathuray who had sent Tan Wah Piow into jail and exile for exercising his democratic right of lawful civil unrest. This willingness to hurt and ruin his fellow man to please their superiors is prevalent throughout the entire country. Coupled with the complete indifference to the welfare of Singapore. The Indian interpreter had no interest in knowing what the judgement against Dr. Chee. He told me that he was very busy. The taxi driver had no interest in organizing a protest against the crippling fees payable to his company to maintain his taxi. His answer was that he was afraid to lose his taxi licence.

All these people either do not realize or do not care that they are hurting Singapore. The entire population are not prepared to question their orders, but merely carry them out. And yes, they are hurting Singapore. All these robotic complaint yes-men are ruining the country. And others who have made deliberate decisions to fight and stay, men such as Dr. Chee, stand up to them. Others who refuse to be led by these political agents of the government, who refuse to live in a place where the rulers and the Administrative Service have lost all sense of justice, feel unsafe of their future and pack up and leave. Many men and women, capable and outstanding in their fields, pack up and leave because their conscience does not permit having to live their lives in total submission to Lee and his Son's cruel and unjust dictates.

What then is left is almost universally, the compliant dishonest men and women such as A, the individual in the Official Assignee's Office, the few men of courage and conviction such as Dr. Chee and company. A large proportion of good honest men and women are no longer in Singapore, and no amount of cajoling and enticement will make them return. In a population of 4 1/2 million with 1/3 of them being foreigners, one cannot see much prospect there. The silver lining is of course men such as Dr. Chee and his courageous supporters who are standing up as upright men and women. With more and more emboldened, things are changing for the better.

As for A at the Bankruptcy Office who is daily hurting and punishing Dr. Chee to please A's superiors, we can only leave it to his/ her own conscience to punish him/her. As Dostoevsky had said, the "living Hell is much worse than any hell after Death".

This attitude of indifference among Singaporean's cannot be of any good for the future of Singapore.

Saturday, December 23, 2006

Please refer to the recent arrest conviction and imprisonment of Dr. Chee Soon Juan, Singapore's foremost opposition politician. The Singapore court's judgment was illegal and without any legal basis. Singapore's action was an abuse of the law to threaten and silence any criticism against their repressive authoritarian rule.

The Constitution of the Republic of Singapore guarantees the right of freedom of speech and expression as is the case in most constitutions of countries claiming to be democracies. A Constitution is the Supreme law of the land and is, except for a few exceptions, sacrosanct. Any law that contradicts the Constitution of Singapore, should, as expected in any democracy, be struck down as unconstitutional and illegal.

However in Singapore, there is a Statute prohibiting the making of any public speech illegal, unless one has obtained a written goverment permit, upon prior written application . A very strange law, you may think, but Singapore is a strange place. Therefore technically speaking, if you were worried about world global warming and wanted to tell 5 passers-by along Orchard Road about it, you need a licence. If you wanted to tell 3 people in Sembawang Mall that they should ask their Member of Parliament for more potted plants in their constituency, you need a permit. If you wanted to encourage more customers passing your food stall to patronize your Chinese food, you need a permit, before you can say that. And getting a permit is not easy either! You have to write to the particular Government office (the Singapore Public Entertainments Office) well in advance and stating your reasons, such as, in the case of the Food Stall Owner in Semabwang Food Court, the need to speak publicly to strangers to attract more customers! Now tell me, whether or not, there is stranger law than that!

So without going any further, this Sing pore "law" for the need to obtain a written licence to speak in public is ludicrous. Therefore just because the Singaporegovern met, being a one party state (except of course for a miserable 2 opposition politicians in Parliament) has such a law, should such a silly law which makes no sense, be legal? And should we comply with it? I think not.

In any case, this nonsensical law is unconstitutional anyway, being squarely violative of the Constitution, since the constitution says that one has "freedom of speech and expression". Any rational person will understand that in exceptional circumstances, the constitution can be amended or changed in cases of grave national interest. For instance, in the USA, the Constitutional right to bear arms, is moderated in many states by criminalizing the possession of machine guns. Such amendments are understandable. But what justification is there in Singapore, to take away the right to speak publicly on lawful important subjects? What justification is there to insist that the man along the corner of Orchard and Scotts Road, should first obtain a Government Permit in writing before he can tell the passers by that he thinks the world is coming to an end through Global Warming?

Please believe this. The criminal charge against Dr. Chee arose out his telling passers by at a Singapore Housing Estate that they should buy his newspaper "The Singapore Democrat" which he was selling. He makes a living selling this newspaper, as well as his other books. Now tell me, what criminal offence is there, or are we to assume that just because the Singapore Government calls it a crime, it should be so.

Well, the fact is that Dr. Chee has not committed any crime. He does not consider himself a criminal. I do not consider him a criminal, and neither will any right thinking member of either the Singapore or the International public think of him as a criminal. This Singapore law is fit only within the pages of Alice in Wonderland. Not in real life.

And what is worse for the present Singapore administration, it is this. Dr. Chee has stated that he intends to break this lawagain repeatedly. He is prepared to go to jail repeatedly. The world will read of this abuse of the rule of law in Singapore repeatedly. And as we go along, more people will be emboldened to do what Dr. Chee does, by spending a few pleasant days in the Singapore prison. In the end Lee Kuan Yew and his son Lee HsienLoong will be made to look as Don Quixote and mate, and the world will be made to see their stupidity. In this imprisoningbusiness, only Dr. Chee will come out the winner.

Yes, there is hope for Singapore. Thanks to the refusal of Lee Kuan Yew and son to understand reality. The reality is, Singaporeans are now demanding their freedom. They refuse to do silly things, such as, writing to the Minister of Home Affairs for a permit to tell 5 pedestrains outside Tekka Market in Singapore that he is unhappy with his government!

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About Me

Determined to find the Truth.
Born Singapore, educated Winstedt School 2 (next to Monks Hill in Newton, Singapore) Raffles Institution, National Service, some travel in Europe, then law studies England, return to Singapore, practiced for 10 years, active Workers Party member, stood elections 1988 and 1991 in Singapore, was harassed and persecuted by Lee Kuan Yew for my political beliefs, left for USA, obtained asylum and admitted California State Bar, practice law ever since in Fremont California near San Francisco. Relinquished Singapore citizenship 2005 because I was not prepared to permit Lee Kuan Yew to unjustly retain my CPF funds if I remained Singapore Citizen. On principle, the only correct thing for me to do was to give it up, for my CPF funds. I am an American Citizen as of 2004.